nothing good starts here
by car1na30manning
Summary: also on my ao3 The Empress disappears one day after nearly getting killed by a log trap. Someone brings her back from near death.
1. i will conquer these wounds

Rey had never run so fast in her life. She said that every time she was near certain death. One rather insistent Resistance member had been chasing her for what seemed like an hour, he had successfully shot her once in theshoulder.

The next thing she knew, something big and large had let go of a tree and swung down, hitting her in the back left side of her ribs. She was launched into the air and rolled down a hill where she blacked out.

She was going to die here.

*

Rey woke up in pain and possibly dying. She knew that she shouldn't be alive. But someone had seen her fall. Someone had taken her in.

It was much to her chagrin to find that it was a man in Jedi robes. She tried to get up but the blinding pain from her ribs made her lay back. "Yeah I was going to advise against that." He said. "You had quite a nasty fall."

"Yeah, no shit." She coughed. It was the worst feeling ever. "Fuck,"

"You're the Empress, aren't you?" She didn't answer that. "You are." He came forward, he was quite tall, and very muscular. "No judgement from me." He said. "I'm just here to help you because you're hurt."

"Yeah, right."

Rey was scared. She wouldn't admit it but she was.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I don't have a side. I just help people in need because that's the Jedi thing to do."

"Right," Rey said. "Because the Jedi are the pinnacle of morality."

He ignored that.

"My name is Ben,"

"Ben Solo? The General's kid?"

The General's kid had gone missing in action a long time ago. When Rey was still a slave.

"Yes."

"There's no way I'm not getting turned in,"

"She doesn't know I'm here. You're safe here."

Interesting.

Still,Rey was going to murder Ben Solo and laugh when she killed his self righteous ass. And why? Probably because he kept going on about how the Jedi order helped people in need no matter who they were and he wouldn't leave her alone."Can you tell me why you were running?"

"Because I was gonna die."

"And why you broke three ribs,"

"Hit by a log trap."

"It's a miracle you're alive," Ben said. "That kills most men."

"I'm not a man. I can take a little pain."

"You're in a lot of pain right now," He said, "theres no way you're not unless you're in shock."

"I've been through worse."

"I can only imagine," Ben placed a cold cloth on her head. "That doesn't invalidate your pain now though," He got up again, going out of her line of sight. "I have some pain medicine, but not a lot, so it'll have to be used sparingly. Are you in pain right now?"

No shit.

"I'm not taking anything you give me."

"Why?" Silence. "I won't do anything to you." He told her. His voice was soothing and she hated it. "Besides you can barely breathe and can't get up, don't you at least want to sleep?" She did. She was silent for a long time before finally agreeing to what he had asked her. She took the pill, noting after a few seconds that it was not in fact poison.

She fell asleep not long after that.

*

"You are worth nothing," Unkar Plutt said. "You will not speak, you will not fight back, your soul purpose is to make me money, do you understand?" Rey was told this for as long as she could remember. She nodded.

"You will meet him today," Plutt said, "the ancient one in charge of the Order. He wishes to take a wife, and since you're the best looking of my girls I'm choosing you. You better hope he chooses you,"

"Yes, sir." Was all she could say. She met him that day. The Ancient One with the scarred face who corrupted girls and killed them when they turned eighteen. The Ancient One fell in love with her and her youth, he took her and another girl in as his wives that day. She was tall and broad and well built, with blonde hair that was in a crew cut. She was seventeen. She would die first.

The both of them were scared beyond their wits, they both got beat together, they both bandaged up their bloody faces and tattered knuckles. "We're going to die here," The blonde would say.

But Rey had a plan, a plan that should have kept the both of them alive.

*

Rey woke up to a dull aching sensation. Ben was there watching her. He looked tired. She still wondered why he was even bothering with her. "You're probably hungry, I have some broth for you."

"Did you poison it?"

"What would I have to gain from that? Besides I didn't poison your pain pill so why would I poison your broth instead?" He was right, but still she was suspicious. He sighed, taking a sip from the broth. When he didn't keel over Rey accepted it. He fed her, which was embarrassing, but he wasn't a dick about it.

"So you're not turning me in," Rey said, "what do you want in reward?"

"I don't want anything," He told her.

Then what could he stand to gain from this? Rey didn't understand. "I just like helping people."

"Right." She said again.

"I don't have a side in this war."

"And yet your mother is the leader of the Resistance." He blinked, looking like this shouldn't be of any issue to Rey whatsoever. "Surely she would've raised you to believe in the cause."

"She did," He said, "but we disagree on our executions I guess. I'm not much one for fighting. I'm more the healing type."

"So what happens when your mother comes banging at your door asking if you're hiding a fugitive? What are you going to do then?"

"Tell her you're not here," His voice sounded so genuine, "I don't put defenseless people in danger, no matter who they are. You could be the Empress or just a random nobody, I would've still picked you up and helped you." Rey was about to open her mouth to say something, but she was at a loss for words.

"I need to change your bandages," He said.

"Get away from me." He grimaced when she wiggled a little and ultimately paid the price for it.

"This is for your own good." He raised a hand, and Rey felt her eyes start to droop. "Don't be afraid," He told her, "I feel it too."

She passed out after that.


	2. chapter 2

Things would just be easier for you if you gave up."

*

Rey drifted in and out of consciousness for a while. She wasn't sure how long, but when she was awake, she felt more nauseous than anything. She closed her eyes again, her head feeling like it was about to burst. "Ah, you're awake again." He said. "You sleep like you're dead by the way."

"Why didn't you just let me die?"

"Oh good, you're being dramatic too, you must be getting better." Rey raised her arm, making a choking motion towards Ben, she didn't actually go through with it though. "You only proved my point further."

"Fuck you,"

"Thanks for the offer but no thanks. You have three broken ribs and I don't think that'd be best."

"Fuck off,"

"Do you need to pee?"Yes.

"No,"

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm going to kill everyone you love and then laugh when you cry about it."

"I'll take that as a yes, you need to pee."

"Fine,"

"I have a bedpan," He handed it to her. "I'll leave. Trust me. Cleaning that out is a lot grosser than going in it." Rey's face burned, but he left and she really had to go. She had no other choice but then to wrestle with her pants and then relieve herself. She did her best to cover up without aggravating her injuries and Ben came back in to take the bedpan.

She was granted another fifteen minutes of peace before he came back in. "You look great," He said.

"To be honest, at this point killing me would have been kinder."

"Sorry to disappoint." He said. "But you should know by now that I'm not going to kill you." The more he said that the angrier she got. This was so stupid. If she could get up herself she would probably kill him. "How about this," He said, "you drop the act of being the angry Empress who could kill me with one look and just be friendly. It's a lot easier."

*

"Smile more," Plutt hissed at her. "He will never take you if you scowl like that, it makes you look ugly. Faking being friendly is easier."

"Then why don't you take your own advice and fake being friendly?" Rey said. "It'll make you less ugly." It was raining that night. The storm seemed to rage and pour even harder when she said that.

"You'll be paying for that." He told her. She knew she would.

*

"Right," Rey said, "so you just want me to fake get along with you?"

"Hell, maybe you'll actually learn to get along with me." He told her, "Believe it or not all Jedis are prudish or moralistic assholes. Some of us are pretty cool."

If rolling her eyes didn't hurt so much Rey would do it. "That sounded lamer than you could imagine." Ben shrugged. It was the start of something different, where Rey and Ben coexisted in a bit of peaceful annoyance together. It was like that for a while.He tended to her wounds and talked and she just tuned him out for the time being. She drifted in and out of sleep, nightmares permeating her mind the entire time. "Are you okay?" Ben finally asked her after a while. She wasn't sure how much time had passed. "Do you need something?"

She didn't say anything for the longest time, her cheeks burning. "I'm fine," She said.

"You've been having nightmares."

"I always have nightmares,"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Why would I talk to you?"

"Because you don't have anyone else to talk to. Like I said, there's no one else here for you to talk to." Rey wished that he would just let her be. She just needed to get healed up and signal for the Order to come and take her. "It might be better than you think it is."

She sighed after a long pause. "I'm used to having nightmares," She told him. "It's like my life has been one long nightmare and I haven't woken up yet." He didn't say anything for once. He just let her talk. "I don't really know what to tell you other than I have nightmares about people from my past. That's all I can really say."

"Are you sure? You can talk to me, I won't judge you."

"That's all I want to tell you." Rey's voice was tight and hoarse. "Can you just leave me alone?"

"Fine." He said. "I'll leave you alone."

Rey didn't know how long it took for broken ribs to heal, especially with the help of the Force, but she wished that they would heal faster. She felt like she couldn't breathe, and she hated staying still. She needed to move. She needed it so she didn't go insane. "Are you okay?" Ben asked.

She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. "Is it hot in here to you?" She asked him. Her voice was more pitiful than she would have liked it to be.

"I'll get you a washcloth." He told her. "Are you nauseous?"

"No, it's just hot."

"Right, you might have a fever. Hold on."

This was the first time that Rey didn't have the urge to kill Ben. He brought her a cool wet wash cloth and stayed quiet, before giving her some more medicine and telling her that it would bring down her fever. "Thank you." She thought he would make some annoying remark about how she was finally being a little bit nicer to him. He didn't. He just smiled a little bit. It annoyed her that she actually liked that smile.

It was a lot nicer of a smile than anything she had seen in a long time. "Is that helping?" He asked her after a while.

"Yeah," She said. "Thanks." She took a deep breath in and drifted in and out of sleep again. But this time she didn't have nightmares. Her sleep was just black. There was nothing else there. Maybe this was the start of something new. Maybe they would actually get along.


End file.
